The Association of African Universities (AAU) ( ar, اتحاد الجامعات الأفريقية, french: Association des universités africaines) is a university association of African universities based in
Accra,
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
. With member institutions all around Africa, AAU provides a forum for cooperation and exchange of information on higher education and research policies.
AAU was founded in
Rabat,
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
on November 12, 1967, following recommendations made at an earlier conference organized by the
(UNESCO) in
Antananarivo
Antananarivo (French language, French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra ("An ...
,
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
in September 1962. Antananarivo meeting called upon its participants to establish an organization for mutual cooperation.
The Antananarivo recommendations were taken up by a preparatory Committee of the heads of African institutions of higher education, which met in Khartoum in September 1963 and drafted the founding constitution of the association. With an initial membership of 34, the association now has over 340 members from 46 countries, cutting across language and other divides.
AAU Member Universities
(accessed 10 Dec. 2015)
The association has provided a platform for research, reflection, consultation, debates, co-operation and collaboration on issues pertaining to higher education. It has provided a range of services to its members and served African higher education in a variety of ways. It has established and increased its role in the five sub-regions of Africa and is thus able, at reasonable notice, to assemble teams of experts in relevant fields from the sub-regions.
The association possesses a unique capacity to convene higher education institutional leaders and policy-makers from all parts of the continent and on key issues related to African higher education and development, as demonstrated in the WTO/GATS workshop held in Ghana in April 2004. In addition, the association provides leadership in the identification of emerging issues and support for debating them and facilitating appropriate follow-up action by its members, partners and other stakeholders.
See also
* List of higher education associations and alliances
* Universities in Africa
References
Further reading
* Livsey, Timothy. "Imagining an Imperial Modernity: Universities and the West African Roots of Colonial Development." ''Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History'' 44.6 (2016): 952–975.
External links
*
Full list of member universities
Programs & Services
College and university associations and consortia in Africa
Organizations established in 1967
Educational organisations based in Ghana
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